


The Pride‘s Cubs

by tia_dreamer



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: How Do I Tag, M/M, Marked complete for now, Pidge may have female pronouns but Green sure doesn’t., Red is doing some introspection, Red took over my brain, That may change, The Lions are sentient, The Voltron pride, The lions are just waiting for their paladins to wake up, The red and blue lion have a heart-to-heart, Voltron S7 E13, Will in all probability be continued. Red is a very proactive giant robot lion after all., green is happy they don’t have to deal with all that drama from Katie, lions chilling on the astral plane, oh and I gendered the lions just for kicks., or I’ll just make a series out of it, red ships it, tags will change, the lions have personality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 16:14:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16021469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tia_dreamer/pseuds/tia_dreamer
Summary: The pride is waiting for their paladins to wake up. Red is brooding, Black is tense, Green is playful, Yellow just wants to sleep and Blue seems less tranquil than usual.Or:The lions hanging out on the astral plane. Blue and Red have opinions. And for once Red isn’t the impulsive one.(I just really want to explore the lions a bit)





	The Pride‘s Cubs

**Author's Note:**

> So, Red waltzed into my brain and wouldn’t let me write anything else until I made him a cozy little space to brood in. And I have this Lukercy FF I really should continue... but Red doesn’t want me too. 
> 
> This is really just self-indulgent because I love the lions and I think especially Red would have a ton of fun (all in good sarcasm) with the drama between Keith and Lance (and allura).  
> Basically, Red is the Klancers. 
> 
>  
> 
> So, yeah. I hope you enjoy. And let me know if you liked it <3
> 
> Ciao,
> 
> Tia.

The lions are a lot of things. They are weapons, robots, made of metal, powered by quintessence and a mystery to most. They are old. They have seen a lot. And, though most discount it, they are very much sentient. Of course their paladins know that, but Red very much doubts they really grasp the whole of their mental capabilities.

 _Ohh, big words for a small cat._ Green stretches their astral form out next to where Red has curled up by himself. The others are a distance away, Blue and Yellow coiled around each other as Black sits, quiet and uptight, keeping watch.

Not that Black needs too. They have some time before anything really could happen, with their paladins asleep and resting in that hospital and everyone probably less than eager to leave Blue‘s planet even then. Red himself is feeling a little restless though.

_Did you know the humans call it the blue planet? Quite a coincidence, isn’t it?_

So, Green is in a playful mood. There is no shaking them when their snarky side rears it’s head. Red has has thousands of deca-phoebs to come to terms with it, though mild irritation still makes his form ripple.

_Ooooh. Touchy._

Green bats at him with a small paw and Red decides to indulge the green menace. For any of the others, he wouldn’t have.

He blames his soft spot on both his latest pilots, for being so utterly protective and indulgent of the slip of a girl that is Katie.

_That slip of a girl knows more about us than the other five combined._

Red agrees. That doesn’t mean Katie is the closest to her lion though.

Green growls at that, and the others perk up as well. But it’s not like Red is not speaking the truth. Out of all of them, Red has always been the most in synch with his pilot. Not those moments of complete synchronisation when paladin and lion are in danger, but in general.

He hears the grumbling from the others. They have all gathered around him again, like Lance had somehow rubbed off on him.

 _You mean I have._ Blue preens next to Red.

 _No_. Red hauls himself into a sitting position. _We have our roles. You’re the heart. But Lance still isn’t quite where he belongs._

That makes all of them pause.

 _You’re going to change your paladin again?_ Blue bristles. _Lance does not deserve to get tossed around like that!_

 _Don’t jump to conclusions just yet._ Yellow almost yawns his way through that one sentence, and Blue settles down after another tick or two, next to his friend.

Red isn’t surprised. Blue has never been one for conflict.

 _So what_ do _you mean?_

Green prods, though they do not actually seem curious. More than likely, they already know what Red has been hashing out in his mind.

_Lance was never meant to be the first to strike._

He turns to Black, who is sitting stoically, probably listening to Keith’s thoughts for any anomalies. She ignores the unsaid offer to take the reign of the conversation.

That leaves Red to explain. Which is not as big a bother as it may have been. He likes his silence, but he also likes Lance. He stares at Lance’s first lion.

_Don’t you still catch stray thoughts from Lance?_

Blue actually growls at him. _Don’t you dare make this about me. I adore Allura._

 _We’ve heard you sing her praises repeatedly, yes._ Green injects the jab somewhat dryly.

_So you should know that Lance plans a lot more than I’ve ever had to do in a fight._

He’s all instinct and little plan, as they all know. And usually the black paladin points him and the red paladin into the direction of enemies and leads the second wave of attacks. That doesn’t work out the same way with Lance’s and Keith’s dynamic though.

_You mean the mutual pining the both of them are prone too?_

Red and Blue both look towards Green.

 _What_? The smallest lion tilts their head. _You’re broadcasting your thoughts again, Red. And it’s become so obvious that we’ve all been subjected to the subconscious emotions of your paladins._

They settle down into a comfortable position, almost radiating self-satisfaction.

_I’m so glad I don’t have to deal with something like that from Katie, not like all of you do._

_Hunk doesn’t do something like that._ Yellow points it out calmly, only to have Red, Blue and Green all simultaneously paw at him. _Shay_.

It ends in Yellow admitting defeat after seconds.

Then Red gets a flash of a hospital room in front of his eyes, a dog (Red sniffs in distaste) blocking most of the view.

Black twitches at the same moment.

 _Keith is awake_.

Black’s exclamation makes all of them sit up, even as Red shakes his head to get rid of the dog picture. None of the paladins had woken up till now.

_Then it won’t be long until the rest wakes up as well!_

Green sounds more than happy about that, and even Black relaxes a little. Red is content as well, even though he knows it will probably still be quite some time before his paladin wakes up. Lance was the worst off out of all of them, even if Red wasn’t sure what exactly that entailed. Humans seemed very fragile.

 

They all bound of after that, Green jumping over and around Yellow, probably teasing him about Hunk, and Red flops down again to think some more on his decision. Even though it isn’t really his.

Black knew exactly what he was thinking, he had told her, and she had held her silence.

Which was agreement for her, anyways. If Black objected, she did so vocally and decisively. She was, after all, leader of their pride.

Someone prodded his side, and he opened his eyes to glare at Blue. As much as a giant robotic lion could glare, anyway.

_Do you really think Keith will give up leadership?_

Blue sounds somewhat stunned by the possibility, and Red has to remind himself that he’s the only one who knows the dynamic between Lance and Keith from both sides. Blue may know Lance was as ready as he could be for leading, but he didn’t know Keith’s thoughts on leadership and responsibility. (Necessary evils that should be avoided.)

_Keith doesn’t like leading._

_He seems insistent on doing it well._

_He doesn’t want his friends dead. Of course he needs to do it well._

There’s a pause.

_Allura hasn’t been sleeping well._

It’s random, in a way, that Blue admits this, but Red does accept it for what it is. Their pride has a telepathic bond to their paladins, and Blue is explaining and apologising for his mood with that little sentence, even if he never would do so outright. Red and Blue are partners, but they have also always been in a bit of a contest.

 _Is it about that half-altean_?

Red isn’t particularly caring, but something like that could turn out badly for all of them. His first paladin’s daughter is important to the team. They all are.

Blue let’s himself fall to the side.

 _More abstract, but he features._ And after a moment of silence, _Lance does too_.

Red has opinions about that. Opinions best expressed with a low huff and bristling.

He’s close to Lance‘s thoughts. He may have been even closer to the Baby Rebel’s, but he and Lance have the same instinct of pack (if not the same instincts in a fight) and he knows his paladin. Allura is a safety net, safe because there had never been a chance. And it was familiar territory.

His red paladin liked to stick to familiar procedures. Even if it wasn’t best for him.

Blue rolls onto his back, paws stuck upwards.

 _I don’t think there are genuine feelings involved. On either side_.

Red huffs.

_That doesn’t mean they won’t be stupid about it._

_How bad could it get?_

Red almost wants to scratch at him, but then he notices that Blue actually means it as a genuine question. That almost startles him more.

But it makes him think. Allura and Lance together would make Lance miserable on the long run. But more than that... it all comes back to his baby rebel in the end.

 _Very bad._ He grumbles _. Keith wouldn’t leave, but the equilibrium would suffer._

_So it can’t happen._

Blues decisive answer is not surprising. He is the heart and always looks at the pack in a way Red can’t quite grasp. He’s just protective, but Blue is something that starts with nurturing and ends somewhere Red can’t understand.

They lie next too each other in silence after that, and Red for once doesn’t feel the need to carve out his own corner, comfortable in the knowledge that Blue and he have come to an understanding. In this at least.


End file.
